FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT GRAND THEFT AUTO - PAGE 4

Two men who were caught speeding through downtown Boca Raton in a stolen car on Wednesday have been linked to at least a dozen home and auto burglaries in Broward and Palm Beach counties, Boca Raton police said. Alex Machell, 19, and Larry Burdgick, 18, who have no known addresses, were charged with grand theft auto on Wednesday morning after they were caught driving a red 1987 Mazda stolen in Boca Raton, police reported. The men confessed to burglarizing four homes in Boca Raton and a few others in Deerfield Beach, Lake Worth, Delray Beach and unincorporated Palm Beach County, police said.

DELRAY BEACH -- Police caught two men breaking into a car to steal its radio at Sherwood Honda on Thursday night, a Delray Beach police report said. David Martin, 32, of Boca Raton, was charged with auto burglary and possession of burglary tools. Alophonzo Williams, 36, of Delray Beach was charged with auto burglary and grand theft auto. Police were called at 11:15 p.m. to the lot at 3110 S. Federal Highway to investigate a report of cars being stolen.

Police arrested a man on Thursday who they think is involved in large-scale insurance fraud involving vehicles reported stolen and later altered, according to reports. Ricardo C. Mazariegos, 26, was charged with grand theft auto and offenses involving vehicle identification numbers, reports show. He was being held at the Palm Beach County Jail Thursday night on $3,000 bail. The Lake Worth Police Auto Theft Task Force also recovered two altered vehicles worth $15,000 from Mazariegos' home, 404 S. "K" St., that had been reported stolen.

Pompano Beach -- A Pompano Beach man, who rented a car for a week in 1984, was found still driving the car Friday and was charged with grand theft auto, police said. Carlos Humberto Buenaventura, 29, of the 2200 block of Cypress Bend Drive South, rented the four-door Pontiac on Nov. 14, 1984 at Miami International Airport, according to police. After Buenaventura failed to return the car a week later, Avis Rent-A-Car Systems reported the vehicle stolen. A detective from the Pompano Beach Police Department and two United States marshals stopped Buenaventura on Friday while he was driving the car near his home, police said.

A teenage boy accused of burning a car, torching a trash bin and igniting a pallet of cardboard has been charged with arson, burglary, grand theft auto and violation of probation, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. The teen told investigators he "likes fires" and committed the crimes over several hours Sunday morning because he was bored and mad, the Sheriff's Office said. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is withholding his name because of his age. He was arrested Monday as he allegedly drove a stolen SUV along the 300 block of Northeast 35th Court.

The U.S. Attorney's Office on Monday formally charged former Miami Dolphin wide receiver Mark Ingram with possession of counterfeit currency, a charge that could land him 15 years in jail. After Miami-Dade County police arrested Ingram on Jan. 23. They said he was driving a stolen Ford Expedition with $3,290 in counterfeit currency on him. They found $3,000 in Ingram's jacket pocket and another $290 in a money clip, prosecutors said. Police have also charged him with grand theft auto.

Fort Lauderdale -- Chris Thomas, 25, no known address, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault, possession of stolen property resisting arrest and grand theft auto, after he led police a high- speed chase, according to police. Police said Thomas jumped into a 1986 Blazer he had stolen earlier that day after tripping a burglar alarm in a convenience store where he had stolen $60 from the cash register and nine cartons of cigarettes. Thomas led police through several northwest Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods, before an officer rammed the Blazer and pushed it into a ditch near a construction site, police said.

DELRAY BEACH -- A 20-year-old Delray Beach man was robbed at gunpoint of a 1991 Toyota Corolla about 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday in the 300 block of Northeast Second Avenue. Police have charged Donnell Holloman, 22, of the 1600 block of Northeast Third Avenue with armed robbery and grand theft auto. A short time after the robbery, police saw the car in the 600 block of Southwest Ninth Street, and Holloman was driving it, a police report said.

A teen-ager who was arrested and charged with grand theft auto also was carrying a master ignition key for Toyotas, police said. On Friday, police saw Alex Germilus, 17, driving a stolen Toyota on Elm Street near South A Street, according to an arrest report. When the officer stopped Germilus, one of the master keys was found in the car's ignition and another key in Germilus' pocket, police said. Police said Germilus is a suspect in a series of Toyota thefts in the city during the past few weeks.

The following information is provided by local jurisdictions and reported by Forum Publishing Group. These are selected incidents and are not a complete listing. Shoplifting 9000 block of Dupoint Place Jan. 23, about 2 a.m. A 19-year-old man was arrested for shoplifting. Burglary 9000 block of Scribner Lane Jan. 22, about 1 p.m A 19-year-old man was arrested for burglary, property damage and criminal mischief. Hit and run 12000 block of Cuddington Court Jan. 22, about 1 a.m. A 20-year-old man was arrested for hit and run, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage.